  We now pass on to consider the ritual of the Asklepian shrines and the accommodation and treatment of the sick who frequented them. It is convenient, first, to consider the Hierarchy. They consisted of the Hiereus or Hierophant, the priest, who was the head official. He was appointed annually, and he appears to have been frequently re-elected. From the Athenian inscriptions we know that sometimes he was a physician, sometimes not; so also it was with the subordinate officials. The priest was the general administrator, and had a share in the financial government of the temple. The Dadouchoi, or torch-bearers, were probably subordinate priests; the Pyrophoroi, or fire-carriers, among other functions, lighted the sacred fire on the altars; the Nakoroi or Zakoroi, whose duties in the temple are uncertain, sometimes were physicians; the Kleidouchoi, or key-bearers, who perhaps were originally a class of superior door porters, but who appear later to have assumed priestly functions; the Hieromnemones seem to have had purely secular duties, and in common with the Hiereus had charge of all receipts and payments; all were under the rule of the Boule of Epidauros. The Kanephoroi (or basket-bearers) and the Arrephoroi (or carriers of mysteries or holy things) were priestesses. We read in some of the inscriptions of servants or attendants who ministered to the sick, and carried those who were unable to walk. Did these women in any degree act as nurses? It is possible, but no definite information on the subject is given. There were certain officials, also, who attended to the sacred dogs; the serpents are not thus far known to have had such guardians. We read also of bath attendants. There was also a special religious society termed the Asklepiastai. Turning now from the priests to the suppliants: these, we find, came from all parts of the Greek world, and from what ancient writers tell us their numbers appear to have been great. Where were they housed? Some, of course, dwelt in the abaton, the women probably in one part and the men in another, for a wall divided the East from the West abaton; but, as I have already pointed out, not more than 120 could find beds Probably multitudes of vigorous and able-bodied persons came to the festivals, and many of them may have been lodged six miles away at the town of Epidauros, or in villages or hamlets adjacent. The ten or twelve thousand who filled the Theatre or the Stadium cannot have been exclusively sick people. It seems probable that numbers of athletes and multitudes of Greeks who merely wanted a holiday and a little excitement came to the Megala Asklepieia as they came to the Isthmian or the Olympic games. Setting aside, therefore, all visitors of this class, who probably brought gains to the Sanctuary, and for whom accordingly space was provided in the Theatre, Stadium, and Hippodrome, I pass on to consider the suppliants proper. The patient on arrival probably had an interview with the priest or other official, and arranged about his accommodation with one of the Hieromnemones, or other secular person. He performs certain rites, bathes in the sacred fountain, and offers sacrifices under the direction of the Pyrophoros; the poor man gives his cake only, the rich his sheep, pig, or goat, or other offering in addition. The votive tablets frequently show the cakes (p?pa?a) being presented, or the sheep, pig, or other animal. Where the ceremonial purification took place is uncertain. A deep well exists in the eastern abaton. A stone dropped struck the water in a fraction over three seconds, as I found after repeated trials. The well is therefore over 144 feet deep. Possibly the water used in the ritual was derived hence, but more probably the place of purification has yet to be found. “Only pure souls may enter here,” was inscribed over the entrance of the temple of Asklepios. Pausanias speaks of a fountain beautifully roofed and decorated, “????? t? te ???f? ?a? ??s? t? ???p? ??a? ???a.” When night comes the sick man brings his bed-clothing into the abaton, and reposes on his pallet, putting usually some small gift on the table or altar. The Nakoroi having come round to light the sacred lamps, the priest enters and recites the evening prayers to the god, entreating divine help and divine enlightenment for all the sick assembled there; he then collects the gifts which had been deposited on altars and tables; later the Nakoroi enter, put out the lights, enjoin silence, and command everyone to fall asleep and to hope for guiding visions from the god. The abaton was a lofty and airy sleeping chamber, its southern side being an open colonnade. It is singularly like the ‘shelter balcony’ or Liegehalle, now used in treating phthisis. This provision of abundance of pure fresh air for the sick by day and night, which is so beneficial now, was undoubtedly so then also, and probably brought much credit to the god and his shrine. According to the inscriptions the god frequently appeared in person, or in visions, speaking to the sick man or woman concerning their ailments. Whether these visitations were merely hallucinations in individuals whose imaginations had been excited, or whether some priest in the dim light, accompanied by a serpent, acted the part of Asklepios; whether the patient was put under the influence of opium or some other drug provocative of dreams; or whether, by some acoustic trick, the priests caused the sick to hear spoken words which they attributed to the deity, it is difficult now to say. The valley of the Hieron was the habitat of a large yellow serpent, perfectly harmless, and susceptible, like most snakes, of domestication. Pausanias tells us it is found in the Epidaurian country alone. I am afraid it is now extinct, though it has been seen during the present century. A number of these creatures dwelt in the sanctuary, perhaps in the vaults of the Tholos. They were reverenced as the incarnation of the god. The sick were delighted and encouraged when one of these creatures approached them, and were in the habit of feeding them with cakes. The serpents seem to have been trained to lick with their forked tongue any ailing part. The dog also was sacred to Asklepios, and the temple dogs in like manner were trained to lick any injured or painful region of the body. It will be remembered that in the Plutus of Aristophanes, the blind Plutus enters the abaton of the Asklepieion at Athens in order to be cured. Asklepios with his daughters, PLATE XXV—Restoration of the Interior of the Abaton at Epidauros In the accompanying sketch of the abaton, Plate XXV, a miracle is in progress in the foreground. A lame man comes to the altar, he offers his sacrifice, the Pyrophoros lights the sacred flame, the Dadouchos or Nakoros enjoins silence while the holy serpent licks the affected part. The abaton is nearly In the inscriptions the phrase ??sat? t? ???ss?, referring to the serpent, is met with, and also in reference to the dogs ???? t?? ?a??? ??e??pe?se t? ???ss?. Many of the malades imaginaires, who to this day are the support of the quack, and a cause of embarrassment and difficulty to the scientific physician—who desires above all things to be honest—doubtless visited Epidauros. PLATE XXVI—Head of Asklepios The priest wearing the holy chaplet would take such a person (as probably he took all suppliants) into the temple, and cause him to present himself before the image of the god; libations were poured, prayers and sacrifices offered, and rites of an impressive kind enacted. Hymns and pÆans were sung to the music of the double flute. The sick man was caused to lay his hand solemnly and reverently on the altar of the god, and then on the part of his own body presumed to be affected; if there were really nothing the matter, he was proclaimed to be If the patient were young, sacrifices were doubtless offered at the shrine of Artemis-Hekate, and perhaps in all cases the procession of priests and suppliants visited the Tholos (which you remember was the Thymele or sacrificing place) and offered sacrifices there perhaps to the serpent, the incarnation of the god of healing; or the train of votaries ascended Mount Kynortion to the shrine of the great Apollo. PLATE XXVII—Asklepios with Serpent. The suppliants spent the day in rest or exercise, as was most agreeable to them. It must be remembered that the precinct was as beautiful as the noblest works of Greek art could make it; moreover large and lofty trees formed a shady grove, protecting from the sun’s heat, while the soft breeze and the sweet pure air of the mountains formed in themselves a potent agency for the restoration of health. The patient had much around him to please and interest—beautiful buildings, rich with sculpture and with colour, statuary figures and groups Plate XXVI represents a head of Asklepios (from the Asklepieion at the PirÆus), to which the genius of the sculptor has given an expression of sorrow and sympathy, as though the god were grieving over the sufferings of mankind. Plate XXVII shows a full-length figure of the god, found at Epidauros, accompanied as usual by the serpent. Artistic reliefs, hermÆ, and full-length figures of noted priests and physicians, and of individuals eminent in art, philosophy, literature, or history; also ex-votos, stelÆ, and tablets recording the marvellous cures effected by the god, coloured bas-reliefs, encaustic paintings, shrines, exedrÆ, decorative vases and fountains, beautified and added interest to the precinct. PLATE XXVIII—Shelter-seat Shelter-seats, arranged in semicircles, of beautiful white marble, were so placed as to avoid sun or wind; they were convenient for converse, or for listening to a reader or a musician. Plates XXVIII and XXIX represent the remains of two of these seats at the Hieron; close to the former is seen a large pedestal on which probably an equestrian statue formerly stood. PLATE XXIX—Shelter-seat Many shrines and chapels to subsidiary deities existed, as, for example, to Hygieia, Themis, the Egyptian Apollo, Helios, Selene, Epione (the wife of Asklepios), Zeus, Poseidon, Minerva, Hera, Demeter and other Eleusinian deities, Dikaiosyne, Lato, Hypnos, Eileithyia, and others not as yet identified. The diminutive figure of Telesphoros, in his capacity of god of Convalescence, is not seen here so often along with Asklepios on ex-votos and coins, as at Pergamos and some other Temples. Plate XXX represents a number of small figures of Hygieia and of Asklepios from the Hieron. Every devout Greek who came as a suppliant to Asklepios would find here also a shrine of his own favourite deity. To those who had been initiated at Eleusis, and whose advanced age or incurable sickness gave little prospect of life, PLATE XXX—Figures of Asklepios and Hygieia Those of the sick who were not too ill, would ascend the hill of Kynortion to visit the temple of Apollo, or climb the neighbouring hill of Titthion, sacred to the infancy of Asklepios. Others would engage in the exercises of the gymnasium or the stadium; if unable to participate in these more active pursuits, they would become spectators of them. The comedies or tragedies played in the theatre would often so immerse the audience in merriment or pathos as to banish for the time individual troubles; both priest and patient attended them constantly. Music, the singing of Orpheic hymns, religious dances, processions, and festivals would vary the interest and occupations of the day. The studious man could occupy himself with manuscripts from the library, and, reposing in the In earlier times it seems as though the health-restoring influence of the shrines was thought to be wholly miraculous, with but small aid or none from art: the god alone achieved all. The more ancient inscriptions contain childishly absurd reports of miraculous cures. The ruling idea was that the deity appeared to the sick man in the abaton, applied some medicament, performed some operation, or instructed the dreaming patient to carry out some sanative action when he awoke. The frauds of the god or his priest were so outrageous that some of the old Greeks seem almost to have equalled in folly and credulity the moderns, who readily buy soap or pills on no other warranty than the advertisements of a lying and interested vendor. On the walls of the eastern abaton were fixed two large stone tablets, bearing the title, “Cures by Apollo and Asklepios.” Most of the fragments of these tablets have been recovered, pieced together, and deciphered by M. Cavvadias and other learned palÆographers. The following are a few extracts:— Line 72 of the first tablet in the abaton.—A man who had only one eye is visited by the god in the abaton during the night. The god applies an ointment to the empty orbit. On awaking, the man finds he has two sound eyes. Line 125.—Thyson of Hermione is blind of both eyes; a temple dog licks the organs and he immediately regains his sight. Line 107.—Hermodicos of Lampsacus comes to the Hieron in a paralyzed condition. As he sleeps in the abaton the god tells him to rise, to walk outside the precinct, and carry back into it the largest stone he can find. He does so, and brings in a stone so heavy that no other man can lift it, and the stone, as the inscription says, still lies before the abaton. The same stone (probably) lies there to-day, and the visitor may yet in vain emulate the feat of Hermodicos. It will be recognised in the illustration, Plate XXXI, by the hole cut in it to put the hands in. Line 113.—A man had his foot lacerated by the bite of a Line 122.—Heraieus of Mytilene has no hair on his head; he asks the god to make it grow again. Asklepios applies an ointment, and next morning the hair has grown thickly over his scalp. (Unfortunately Asklepios omitted to write down the prescription for the benefit of those in like case in the future!) PLATE XXXI—The Stone miraculously carried by the paralyzed Hermodicos At line 48 begins a story containing a moral which the priests may have thought it desirable to impress upon their visitors:— Pandaros comes all the way from Thessaly in order to have a disfiguring eruption or branding mark on his forehead cured; he is quickly made well. Returning to Thessaly his cure is observed by his neighbour Echedoros, who has a similar, but slighter, eruption on the face. He also goes to Hieron, Line 96.—A man from Toronoea is so unfortunate as not to be in the good graces of his stepmother; she introduces a number of leeches into the wine he drinks. Being of a submissive and confiding temperament, he swallows the beverage unsuspectingly, but the results are so serious that he is obliged to visit the god. Asklepios cuts open his chest with a knife, removes the leeches, sews up the chest again, and the patient returns home next day. From other inscriptions we find that Asklepios treats dropsy surgically, in a simple but heroic manner; he first cuts off the patient’s head, then holds him up by the heels; the fluid all runs out. He then puts the patient’s head on again, and the case terminates happily. These, I think, are a sufficient sample of the preposterous stories of cures which the god was reported to have performed in early times. It is quite clear that the absolute liking which many men and women have for the charlatan, and for deception, their appetites for the marvellous and incredible in all medical matters, existed as strongly among the Greeks as among ourselves, though the superstitious beliefs and the ignorance of science prevailing in those times rendered such folly more excusable than it is now. In later times it seems clear that superstition and deception had a less share, and art a larger one, in the work of healing at Hieron. Probably among the acute citizens of Athens, at no period were the frauds of the god so outrageous as in the early times at Hieron. We find the priests prescribing many things that were prudent and judicious; diet of a plain and simple character, hot and cold baths, poulticing for certain chest ailments, and a variety of medicaments—hemlock juice, oxide of iron, hellebore, squills, lime-water, and drugs for the allaying of pain—are incidentally mentioned. Water was used extensively both internally and externally; active gymnastic exercise, riding, friction of the skin, a sort of massage, and counter-irritation. The tablet of Apellas of Idria tells us that when visiting the Hieron on account of frequent illness and severe indigestion, the god or his priests ordered a diet of bread and curdled milk, with parsley and lettuce, lemons boiled in water, also milk and honey. Apellas being an irascible person, the god ordered careful avoidance of the emotion of anger, and desired him to run and swing in the gymnasium, and use vigorous friction and counter-irritation to the surface of the body. Probably Apellas was a wealthy and luxurious city-dweller, who took too much food and Chian wine, and who suffered, as many in that age did, from gout. He is eventually cured, and erects a tablet to show his gratitude. Here is the invocation of another sufferer coming to the Hieron: “O blessed Asklepios, god of healing, it is thanks to thy skill that Diophantes hopes to be relieved from his incurable and horrible gout, no longer to move like a crab, no longer to walk upon thorns, but to have a sound foot as thou hast decreed.” It would have been interesting to know how far Diophantes’ hopes were realized. If they met with disappointment, he may have regretted putting up the tablet at so early a stage. There can be little doubt that many of the sick benefited greatly by the rest, the pure air, the simple diet, the sources of mental interest, the baths, exercise, massage, and friction, and in later days by the actual medical treatment adopted. Surgical treatment was also employed, for we find marble reliefs of surgical instruments. Not infrequently it would happen that persons with real or with incurable diseases came to Hieron and got worse, notwithstanding their sacrifices and petitions to the god. How the priests excused the impotency of their deity on these occasions we do not know; perhaps some lack of merit, purity, or sanctity in the individual may have been imputed. We know that in some cases the honour of Asklepios was saved by sending the unfortunate invalid to some distant shrine; but of course it happened that in some instances the patient died while at the Hieron. Now, according to the religion of the Greeks, two events were considered to desecrate in the most dreadful manner any hallowed precinct—namely, birth and death; neither of these must occur within any sacred enclosure. While the sick probably met with considerable kindliness, humanity, and real help at these shrines, and much actual benefit resulted, notwithstanding the superstition on which all Not until the time of the Antonines was any definite provision made for these two classes of sufferers. Either Antoninus Pius or Marcus Aurelius erected outside the precinct a home for the dying, and a sort of maternity hospital. Doubtless some of the ruins dating from the Roman period, which are at present unidentified, subserved these two purposes. As yet nothing has been said about the commissariat arrangements of the Hieron. It is probable that several hundred persons habitually resided there, if we include the sick, the convalescents, the priests, officials, and servants, while on the occasion of the great festivals the number rose to at least ten or twelve thousand. What arrangements were made for the dieting of all these? Where were the storehouses, the kitchen and the “deipneterion,” or dining-room, if any such existed? Probably the diet of the poorer patients may have consisted largely of the barley-meal paste, the “maza” eaten with certain inexpensive vegetables. This would require little preparation. Among the well-to-do patients, however, who were numerous, the meals would be more formal and would need more care in preparation. In early times the “ariston” formed the breakfast, and was eaten at sunrise. In later times this meal was moved The lower story of the western abaton may have been a storehouse, or possibly a kitchen. It must be remembered that the main part of the flesh of the animals presented for sacrifice was used for food. In general only the thigh bones, the entrails and some of the fat, was consumed on the altar, the remainder was eaten by priests, votaries, or attendants. In the case of the bloodless offerings, the cakes, fruit, grain, milk, wine, honey, &c., a large part also was used as food. A rule existed at Epidauros that all should be consumed within the precinct. The so-called “Square building” marked K in the plan, may have been the scene both of minor sacrifices and of the consumption of the unsacrificed remnants. I have suggested above that this building might be a hostel, and the large quantities of ash, of bones, and of fragments of bronze and earthenware vessels found there to some extent support this hypothesis, and the idea that it was employed for the sacrificial banquets. Among the hundreds of inscriptions found I have thus far only mentioned one class—namely, those referring to cures. There are, in addition, no fewer than thirteen other kinds of inscriptions; for example, the great poem of Isyllos, describing the genealogy and miracles of Asklepios, written by command of the oracle of Delphi. This has been edited and commented on in a most scholarly manner by Prof. von Wilamowitz-MÖllendorff. Many of the inscriptions are in honour of individual priests, pyrophoroi, hieromnemones, or of distinguished Greeks unconnected with the sanctuaries; for example there was found, in association with a headless statue, the inscription shown below. Plate XXXII. The upper four lines of the inscription are in the Dorian dialect, the remainder in the Ionian. The former is the dedication of the statue by the Epidaurians to a historian previously unknown to the classical student, a certain Philippos of Pergamos. The lower Ionic fragment is probably a quotation (the only one known to exist) from his writings. PLATE XXXII—Dedication of Statue to Philippos (Cavvadias) Supplying the lost words or letters the inscription runs as follows:— ???et? ?? ’ ?p?da???? ???ste?da? F???pp?? ?e?????e? ?e?a? ????a??? ?st???a? ?????sa? d’ ???a?e? ?pe? p??e????f?? a?d?? ???a??? ?e???? ??s?? ?pe???e???. * * * * * ??? pa?t???? pa???? ?a? s??e???? ????- -??f????? ??? te t?? ?s??? ?a? t?? ????- -p?? ?a? t? ????? ???ea ?a? ??s??t??? p???a? ?a?’ ??a? ?e?e?????? ?s?? ?e??? t?? pe?? t?? ?a???? p???e?? ?s- -t????? ????e??a ?? t??? ?????a? ???? ?a? d?’ ???? a??????te? ???- -sa d????p?? ?a? ?e?d??? ?[et??a?] ?a? st?s?e? ?f????? ?a? p?st??[?] ?ata??s?e? ?e???s?? ?a?? pa?? [t?] ??se? pa???? ????t???? ?pe???[t??] p?????ta? t?? t?? ??? d?????s?a?. English Version. “Set up in stone by Epidauros see, A peerless scribe of god-like history, Philip, the son of Aristeidas, come Unto this holy place from Pergamum: War was too long the theme of Greece; my pen Shrilled to ensue a peace for mortal men. * * * * *
It is somewhat interesting to find the Boule of Epidauros thus doing special honour to a historian, and at the same time warning the Greek people against those political faults to which the nation was specially prone. The governing bodies of our health resorts do not show so large-minded an appreciation of letters or of political morals. A number of the later inscriptions are in honour of distinguished Romans. There are numerous inscriptions regarding laws, or judicial decrees. Others, again, refer to the contests of the Stadium, while another and especially voluminous class relates to the construction of the temples and other buildings. In addition to the names of the architects and contractors, and the sums paid, these records contain many interesting details, e.g., the statement that the pediment groups and acroteria on the temple of Asklepios were cut in marble by Hektoridas and another artificer, from models designed by the great sculptor Timotheus, the artist who, along with Scopas, designed parts of the mausoleum of Halicarnassus. The minute details concerning the building of the Tholos, the amounts paid for marble and other materials, the names of architects and contractors, the report of the commissioners who inspected the work, and who formed a sort of lay buildings committee; their journeys to Athens, Corinth, Megara, and other places in quest of material, workmen, etc., the exact sums expended on these journeys, and other details, are curious and interesting. One can only regret that no hint is given of the use and purpose of the building on which so much care and thought were expended. I might occupy much time in showing and describing the scores of sculptured votive tablets which have been recovered. In most, of course, the figure of Asklepios has been destroyed or damaged by the iconoclastic zeal of the early Christian. PLATE XXXIII—Group of Suppliants approaching Asklepios and his Family In Plate XXXIII an almost uninjured example is shown. A group of four suppliants with their children approach the god, who leans on his staff with entwining serpent. Behind Asklepios is seen the head of (probably) his wife Epione, then come Machaon and Podalirius, his sons, then, probably Hygieia, Panakeia, and Iaso, his daughters. The whole Asklepian family are of heroic stature. Every fourth year a great festival was held at the Hieron, the Megala Asklepieia, at which athletic contests, races, processions, music, plays in the theatre, holy (perhaps also unholy) vigils, lasting all night (especially if the Thracian Kotyttia were enacted in the portico of Kotys), gorgeous rites, sacrifices, On these occasions, if not at other times, doubtless every seat in the theatre, stadium, and hippodrome would be filled, mostly by sound and healthy visitors, coming, as I have suggested above, partly to enjoy a holiday, partly to witness athletic exercises, which interested them quite as much as important cricket, football, or rowing contests interest us, and partly to do honour to the god whose aid they might need when the days of sickness or old age should come. * * * * * * * * Lastly, there is a link which, though of no practical import, is still a genuine historic bond connecting the Hieron of Epidauros with the medicine of Western Europe. Three centuries B.C. Rome was visited by dire pestilence. The rulers of Rome, having in vain endeavoured to check it, sought the counsel of the Sybilline books, and were directed to bring Asklepios to Rome from Epidauros. A galley was sent to the Saronic Gulf, and a mission visited the Hieron, bringing back to the ship one of the sacred serpents. The galley returned, entered the Tiber, approached Rome, and as it touched the insula in the Tiber the sacred serpent at once left the ship and found a refuge on the island. From that moment the plague is said to have rapidly disappeared. In gratitude to the god, who was thus visibly among them in serpent form, the south end of the island—probably, indeed, the whole of the island—was modelled into the shape of a great galley of hewn stone. A temple of Æsculapius (as the Romans called him) was built at the southern end, with portico and abaton. A well existing there became sacred to Æsculapius, and from that day to this the island in the Tiber has, through pagan and Christian times alike, been devoted to the cure and treatment of the sick. The stern of the stone galley still exists, with the effigy of the serpent and remains of the image of Æsculapius. The Church of St. Bartholomew stands on the site of the temple, and on or near the spot where stood the ancient abaton now stands a hospital served by the Brotherhood of San Juan de Dios, the benevolent saint of Granada, where the sick folk of Rome are helped and tended; and there, unlike * * * * * * * * It is doubtless in consequence of this episode of the founding of a temple of Æsculapius on the island of the Tiber that the staff and serpent of the Epidaurian god have been, and remain to this day, the symbol of the profession of Medicine. Staff and Serpent
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